26%
2024 (latest)
NO RELIGIOUS PREFERENCE
percent of valid weighted adult responses · 1972–2024 · neither direction is "better" · computed from the NORC General Social Survey cumulative microdata (WTSSPS-weighted shares)
5%
1972
29%
high · 2021
5%
low · 1972
+20 pts
since 1972
┊ dashed lines mark 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak · 1987 Black Monday crash · 1991 Gulf War recession · 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. Computed from cumulative Stata public microdata, WTSSPS-weighted numerator divided by valid weighted denominator, minimum 200 weighted responses per year. RELIG positive codes 4 (none); valid codes 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13. Missing years are not interpolated. SOCFREND concerns evenings with friends outside the neighborhood. Breaks: 2021 push-to-web pandemic design; 2022 and 2024 mixed mode differ from historical in-person interviews.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://gss.norc.org/content/dam/gss/get-the-data/documents/stata/GSS_stata.zip
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Family-And-Society
Data
| Year | No religious preference | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 26% | −1.9 pts |
| 2022 | 28% | −1.8 pts |
| 2021 | 29% | +6.1 pts |
| 2018 | 23% | +0.8 pts |
| 2016 | 22% | +1.4 pts |
| 2014 | 21% | +1.4 pts |
| 2012 | 20% | +1.5 pts |
| 2010 | 18% | +0.8 pts |
| 2008 | 17% | +0.6 pts |
| 2006 | 17% | +2.4 pts |
| 2004 | 14% | +0.7 pts |
| 2002 | 14% | −0.3 pts |
| 2000 | 14% | −0.2 pts |
| 1998 | 14% | +2.3 pts |
| 1996 | 12% | +2.3 pts |
| 1994 | 9% | +0.3 pts |
| 1993 | 9% | +2.5 pts |
| 1991 | 7% | −2.2 pts |
| 1990 | 9% | +0.7 pts |
| 1989 | 8% | +0.1 pts |
| 1988 | 8% | +0.5 pts |
| 1987 | 8% | +0.3 pts |
| 1986 | 7% | −0.2 pts |
| 1985 | 7% | −0.0 pts |
| 1984 | 7% | −0.5 pts |
| 1983 | 8% | −0.1 pts |
| 1982 | 8% | +1.2 pts |
| 1980 | 7% | −2.4 pts |
| 1978 | 9% | +2.8 pts |
| 1977 | 7% | −1.2 pts |
| 1976 | 8% | −0.5 pts |
| 1975 | 8% | +0.9 pts |
| 1974 | 7% | −0.1 pts |
| 1973 | 7% | +1.9 pts |
| 1972 | 5% | — |
Also in Family & Society